Street work: How to go about it.

[yeffe]

My assumption has always been that the way to use the Leica for maximum effectiveness

is to employ some sort of stealth approach. Pre-metering and pre-focusing, feigning

interest in something or someone else while keeping your prey in sight peripherally, even

90 degree viewfinders. But it's not like you can really disappear as a person with a camera

and a searching eye in a public setting.

 

Filmmakers can't hide their intentions or their bulky and intimidating equipment. But they

often capture vignettes as realistic and affecting as still shooters do. I think there's

something about the obvious approach they're forced to take because of the limitations of

their craft. So, would it be just as workable for a still photographer to drop the ninja

pretense and, perhaps, carry the Leica on a mini-pod supported on one's chest?<div></div>

[._._z]

1) Stealth is unnecessary, but the belief it is is a common beginner's mistake. Some

street photographers, like Bruce Gilden and Martin Parr, use flash. Hardly innocuous.

 

2) Leicas are unnecessary. Street photography can be done with any camera, even

6x7s and LF.

 

3) This website has a Street Photography forum, if you didn't know.

[Brad_]

What the Z-man said...

[michael j hoffman]

The stealth approach is not the way to go. It only makes you look sneaky. If you photograph with an ease about yourself, it will tend to put your subject(s) at ease, as well. You are not invisible. Good street photography captures the "realness" of people's experience on the street in a given moment. At that moment, you are part of their real experience. Their reactions may be active, passive or indifferent, but they are all reacting to you. Be yourself. If you act non-threatening, chances are very good that you'll be perceived that way.

 

Michael J Hoffman

[________1]

Probably the best thing is to find your own particular approach. It's not what works, but rather what works for you.

[travis1]

stand firm, hold the camera up to face for a few seconds aiming at your subjects, if nothing happens, fire off. Then up again. If something happens, fire first.

[wmwhee]

First of all, I have practically no experience in street photography. At the same time, I like looking at others' street work.

 

I do like occasionally to include people in landscape pictures and pictures of buildings around town. I feel least self-conscious--most at ease--about photographing people in natural and urban settings when I do not try to conceal the fact I am taking a picture in which they will appear. Sometimes I use a tripod; other times the camera is hanging in clear view around my neck. On the trail, passersby will say, I hope I didn't ruin your picture, and I reply, I think you may have just MADE my picture.

 

If there were any kind of photography I would like to explore, it would be environmental portraiture--not exactly the same thing as street photography, but perhaps related to it.<div></div>

[wmwhee]

Stoner's Laundry<div></div>

[wmwhee]

Stoner's Laundry, the last shot<div></div>

[leslie_cheung]

>>>stand firm, hold the camera up to face for a few seconds aiming at your subjects, if nothing happens, fire off. Then up again. If something happens, fire first.<<<

 

Why wait a few seconds aiming at subject Travis? I second that you gotta find your own approach and even use a few different approach in different situations say when different lenses are used. For example, 21mm would be quite different than 50mm.

[travis1]

sure there're many ways Leslie. The above is my way of training myself not to be sneaky and most times nothing happens. Why a few secs, well it's so people will know you're shooting. Don't know if it'll work for others though but those rounds of practice have put me more at ease with myself and my environment.

[dennis_couvillion]

Be fast.

[brambor]

Here are my personal and humble observations:

I have started with street photography about 2 years ago. I'm not claiming I got it but I can see that I went through developmental steps.

 

At first I thought I needed the quietest camera out there. But people aren't blind. They don't need to hear your camera. They can see it first and become alert.

 

I kept shooting with various cameras and worked more on what I thought I wanted from street shots. After a while I was getting the shots I wanted and was happy with.

 

I realized that it was more in confidence about who you are and what you are doing. Now I show my camera, think about a shot, put my camera to my face and shoot. Sometimes I even wait for that eye contact of for eventual ignorance and return to more natural body language of the subjects.

 

So my conclusions are that it doesn't matter how loud or how big your camera is. What matters is how you conduct yourself so you don't freak people out.

 

I have a long way to go but I am feeling for my own sake that I am confident in being a photographer and it is starting to help me out on the street.

[kenny_c]

the latest trick i've learned is to talk to myself... people tend to ignore you when you start talking to yourself.

[michael s.]

Some unusual and certainly disparate views can be found <a href=http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008BbL>on this thread</a>. Some of the folks who commented there are among the better street shooters on photo.net, by the way. (It is *not* a gear discussion, by the way.)

[robert_m_johnson]

I gotta read summa dat sh*&! :-)

[bobbyc]

Two of the great "Street Photographers", W.Evans and Bresson ingeniously created some

"tricks".

Evans wore a big jacket/coat, had the lens of his Contact camera "peeping" thru a button

hole, "snaked" the cable release up his chest and into his arms and took the legendary

"Subway Photos."

Bresson is said to have camouflaged his Leica and pointed his viewfinder in a seemingly

different direction.

And then there is D. Arbus who would engage her Street subjects extensively to take their

photos.

[peter]

I find this to be about the hardest thing to do.

 

I am always afraid of offending people and am sure I have missed many good shots because of this.

 

But I try to be prepared so I can be less conspicuous. Technically it is amazing how quickly you can work with a manual camera and a hand held meter. Just remember that even though we are now used to wiz bang matrix meters that are all singing and all dancing, sun light is really just sun light and usually does not change too rapidly unless there is a change in weather conditions. If you meter a couple of times (full sun then shade) you can often just preset your lens shutter speed and f stop and be pretty sure of a good exposure - just be prepared to change the expose by a stop or so if you move from sunlight to shade or back again.

 

And I am convinced that the Leica is faster than most autofocus cameras. Just preset for a given point of focus (depending on your environment and type of targets and it helps to be using a wide angle for depth of field too.) Use hyperfocal focussing if you are able as this ensures the maximum depth of field.

 

These preparations allow you to just swing the camera up to your eye and shoot when you need to. Sometimes your framing will be off and sometimes likewise with the metering or focus but you would be surprised how often it works.

[travis1]

actually most autofocus cams when used in manual preset modes, are just as fast as leicas. SO in a senses, leicas aren't the fastest, cam wise.

[travis1]

in a sense..

[fjords]

in a sense or just incense

[travis1]

inasenseincense

[terry_rory]

This guy was not aware I took his photograph even though I was about 3 - 4 feet away at the next table. He was simply engrossed in his correspondence. I was not being 'stealthy' and he might have caught sight of me at any moment. So what? He performs music in public for money in Covent Garden in London where people are constantly photographing everything. I doubt he would be bothered. I mean you don't wear a hat like that and play guitar to people for cash if you are sensitive about 'snappers' like me.....

 

<a href=" title="Trevor Hare 2006"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/39/103799731_7ae27f29d8_o.jpg" width="750" height="516" alt="" /></a>

[terry_rory]

Not saying it was a great pic of course (it's not) but it illustrates the fact that I am learning to not bother what people may think about my photography in a public place.

 

I also used to think you had to be sneaky but now realise that it doesn't matter so long as you are polite and confident that what you are doing is OK (just as much as what anyone else in the street is doing is OK). Public photography is not criminal (yet) so why hide it?

[msitaraman]

<a href=http://www.pinkheadedbug.com/techniques/shynessone.html>John Brownlow's online article</a> written some years ago is still a must read on street photography.<br><p>

 

http://www.pinkheadedbug.com/techniques/shynessone.html